Insights & Solutions

Learn about: how the physical setting of a special care unit for dementia patients can affect their behavior in both positive and negative ways, design features that may help engage residents and foster socialization, and strategic choices of flooring surfaces, flooring transitions, and wayfinding that can help create a safer environment.

Learn about: why the needs of older people are often overlooked, how universal design can support people as they age, how universal design also benefits people of varying abilities and generations, and the need for designers to think about functionality in new and existing spaces.

The goal of this project was to provide an innovative, eco-friendly state-of-the-art facility focused on caring, quality healthcare. A key to the project’s success was establishing a shared vision and guiding principles and using those principles to guide decisions throughout the process.

There’s no place like home. That’s why, in the not-too-distant future, many older people will be able to access medical care and services for chronic and acute health conditions from the comfort and convenience of their own residences.  

Learn about: the need for current healthcare systems to accommodate a growing number of older Americans, how healthcare needs change as people age, design features that can help older patients feel more at home in an inpatient setting, and how home design can contribute to personal health and satisfaction over time.

As part of the impact of aging toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the current state of aging and associated health conditions, the alignment between universal design and sustainable design strategies inspired by environments for aging, and universal design models that enable flexible and adaptable spaces to support aging needs and human needs.

“So, what is population health, anyway?” is a question I hear often—and the answers that follow really run the gamut. There is already a wide range of interpretations of what population health really means, and how it plays out in the real world.

Gunn, R., Davis, M. M., Hall, J., Heintzman, J., Muench, J., Smeds, B., ... & Brown, J. (2015). Designing clinical space for the delivery of integrated behavioral health and primary care. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 28(Supplement 1), S52-S62.

This Ambulatory Care Center Design Tool (ACCDT), developed by Dr. Anjali Joseph and Dr. Zahra Zamani from Clemson University in collaboration with The Center for Health Design (CHD), builds upon a series of papers, best practice case studies and in-depth literature reviews conducted by CHD as well as CHD's Clinic Design Post-Occupancy Evaluation Toolkit – Tool 2 Audit of Physical Environment with additions from a thesis by Crews (2013). The tool supports design teams in making key design decisions about ambulatory care centers linked to evidence based design goals and principles.

Learn about: the importance of social health for older adults, the definitions and characteristics of select social behavior concepts, and design implications of social concepts.